Teague wishes for 50 again

Opportunities ahead in the U.S. midstream sector are so great that long-time industry executive and observer Jim Teague, executive vice president and chief operating officer of Enterprise Product Partners LP, says, “I’d give anything in the world if I could be 50 years old again with what I see in front of us.”

That’s how he opened his presentation to the January Houston Producers’ Forum. He then showed a video of former President Jimmy Carter’s television address in which the president described the 1970s energy crisis as “the moral equivalent of war,” then added, “By the early 1980s, the world will be demanding more oil than it can produce.”

With today’s abundant supplies of crude oil and natural gas, Teague observed, “We’re a long way from April 1977,” pointing to today’s abundant North American crude oil and natural gas production from unconventional shale plays.

“Energy independence then was an oxymoron, today it’s virtually everyone’s expectation,” he added.

Teague cited the U.S. ethylene industry as one example, quoting sources from the 1970s that the existing industry would shrink by 50%. “Now, our ethylene industry is the global shining star. Nowhere in the world can compete with the feedstock advantage of the U.S. ethylene industry,” citing new plants announced by ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips, Sasol and others.

The Enterprise executive reminded producers in the audience that despite currently low natural gas liquids prices to keep in mind that “price creates supply—but price also creates demand.” The demand is coming, he added.

“Rebalancing the global energy picture makes the U.S. globally competitive,” Teague said. “For every molecule we’re importing, we’re going to have multiple, high-value molecules leaving a dock somewhere. My definition of energy security is becoming a net exporter of hydrocarbon-derived products.”

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